Photoshop the Nipple - Beating Back Censorship Double Standards

Censorship of the human body is a weird, nonsensical land of self-contradictions. Images of death, blood and Ann Widdecombe seem to be generally pretty permissible, yet the human form seems to be the most horrendously offensive thing in the known universe.

This has been a particularly hot-button issue on social media recently, especially on Facebook and Instagram. Numerous campaigns have been put into action to combat the continuous removal of nude images, even ones of babies and women breastfeeding. The 'brelfie' movement was started to address this particular issue.

The more direct response came with the #FreeTheNipple campaign, which has been floating around across various platforms for about a decade but experienced a recent resurgence when an Icelandic MP got in on the act. The latest movement though is perhaps the best one yet, as women have started covering their nipples... With other nipples.

instagram.com/tigressforgirls

In an inspired bid to underline the ridiculous double standards between what's admissible for different genders to have on display, women the world over are being encouraged to photoshop male nipples over their own before posting topless images online. The brilliance of it is that it is technically censored, but it's still showing the exact same thing it did before it was covered up. The difference between female and male nipples is purely a developmental one, in every other way they are exactly the same.

It highlights a fascinating irony: the draconian conduct regulations on platforms like Instagram make them prime examples of overbearing censorship, but the loopholes in those regulations make them ideal places to protest. Instagram fully allows female nudity if it's a painting or a sketch, so some women started editing photographs to appear as such (it didn't work). This is the ace in the hole though, any attempt to take the images down would bring down a storm the likes of which Zuckerberg has never seen.

Sadly we can't actually show any of the examples on this site, we're pretty big fans of bewbs here at social songbird, but the site isn't really the ideal place to express that appreciation. If you want to take a look at the amusing results of this campaign, Google is your friend.

Callum Davies

Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him@CallumAtSMF

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